Maynard Police Provide Child Seat Safety Tips

Maynard Police Provide Child Seat Safety Tips

MAYNARD — Police Chief Mark W. Dubois and the Maynard Police Department are working to ensure children stay safe while in the car with family or friends by reminding the community about correctly securing young passengers in car seats or boosters.

The Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law requires that all children sit in a federally approved car seat or booster, which must be properly fastened and secured, until they are 8 years old or over 57 inches tall. It is recommended that children under the age of 13 ride in the back seat.

All infants and toddlers should be in rear-facing car seats until they reach the age of 2 years old, or the weight and height limit issued by the manufacturer. Toddlers and preschoolers should be placed in convertible and forward-facing seats equipped with a harness. Once school-aged children outgrow their forward-facing seats, they should sit in a booster until they are old enough to wear a seat belt.

“It is imperative that residents take the time to properly install a car seat or booster to ensure their children remain safe while in the car,” Chief Dubois said. “Please also remember that the safest place for your children is the back seat of a vehicle.”

According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, 75 percent of child safety seats are installed incorrectly, and motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death and injury for all children. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 638 children 12 years old and younger were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2013, and that more than 127,250 were injured.

Properly securing your child in an age and size appropriate car seat greatly lowers the risk of serious and fatal injuries. The CDC reports that:

Car seats reduce the risk of death to infants by 71 percent, and to toddlers between ages 1 to 4 by 54 percent.

Booster seats decrease the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children 4 to 8 years old when compared with solely seat belt use.

For more information on child car seat safety or need help with installation please contact the Maynard Police Department at 978-897-1011 or to find a checkup event, visit www.mass.gov/childsafetyseats.